Transcript

00:00:01

>> It's a devastating milestone, the death toll from Japan's shock flooding has now hit nearly 200. It's the biggest death toll from an extreme weather event in Japan in more than three decades, but that's not all. Intense summer heat and water shortages are driving fears of disease outbreaks among survivors.

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More than 200,000 households are currently without water in Western Japan. Limited water supplies mean many people are not getting enough fluids. Officials also worry that with limited fresh water, people are avoiding simple things like washing their hands. That could easily lead to an epidemic. It's the result of torrential rain that struck nearly a week ago that set off floods and landslides in some communities built near rivers and on steep hillsides.

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People who fled the devastation are currently taking shelter in temporary evacuation centers set up in school gymnasiums. But that's no escape from the heat either. More than 70,000 military, police, and firefighters are scouring the debris in a grim search for people who are still missing. It's backbreaking work as the mud from landslides has now hardened in the heat.

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Disasters caused by torrential rains have become more common in Japan, and experts say it could be due to global warming. Last summer, dozens died in floods after similar storms. It's got Japanese authorities asking what the country's government can do to stop extreme weather causing a disaster like this again